The invention relates to a sealing system for sealing shafts against liquid media, for example propeller shafts, impeller shafts, rudder stocks of ships, as well as to a sealing ring.
Such a sealing system is, for example, shown in DE 41 41 999 C2, in DE 10 2011 018 584 A1, DE 10 2012 006 125 A1 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,631 A. Each of these sealing systems comprises at least one sealing ring and supporting rings on the side of the housing, which supporting rings form a clamping space for clamping the sealing ring. The clamping space is open radially inside relative to a system center axis, by way of an annular gap, for feeding the sealing ring through between the supporting rings. The sealing ring comprises a radially outer clamping section for accommodating, in the clamping space, a radially inner sealing lip for directly or indirectly resting against the shaft, and a connecting web for connecting the sealing lip to the clamping section. While the clamping section is rounded in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,631 A, the clamping sections of the sealing rings according to the above-mentioned DE printed publications DE 41 41 999 C2, DE 10 2011 018 584 A1 and DE 10 2012 006 125 A1 comprise an essentially rectangular cross section with clamping section surfaces that are oriented so as to be parallel or perpendicular to each other.
However, it has been shown that during installation of the sealing ring the clamping section can be partly squeezed out of the clamping space. Consequently, not only is the clamping section damaged, but also accurate positioning of the sealing ring is impossible. In the case of a round shape the clamping section in the clamping space lacks a non-rotational guide so that the sealing ring tends to be rotated or displaced from its installed desired position.